One student at a time: Building better nutrition
Nutrition Counseling Center bridges classroom learning with real-world practice
By Bob Cunningham
Caroline Paris wasn’t sure what to expect as she stepped into her first virtual nutrition counseling session. The first-year Nutritional Sciences student from San Diego was about to counsel a fellow University of Michigan student about weight loss. But as the conversation unfolded, something interesting happened.
“The conversation began with the question, ‘Why do you want to lose weight?’ but quickly shifted to discussing their picky eating habits, which appeared to be the root of their struggles,” Paris said.
Instead of giving direct advice about calories or meal plans, she let her client lead the discussion. Together, they discovered that expanding the student’s food choices would naturally support their weight loss goals.
This experience captures the heart of the University of Michigan’s Nutrition Counseling Center (NCC), a program that’s changing how future dietitians learn their craft while providing free nutrition services to students and community members.
From classroom to real world
The Nutrition Counseling Center launched in 2022 as a pilot program, and has grown into a comprehensive training ground that bridges a crucial gap in nutrition education.
“We found that having students just jump from classroom simulations to rotations still led to a gap in that knowledge and hands-on learning,” said Erin Zettell, the center’s clinical coordinator and a registered dietitian. “It was just too much of a step ahead.”
Zettell, who earned her Master of Public Health degree in Nutritional Sciences from the University of Michigan School of Public Health in 2018, understands this challenge firsthand. After completing the traditional dietetic internship model herself, she worked as a clinician before returning to help transform how future dietitians are trained.
The center operates as part of a major shift in the program’s approach. Instead of students completing two years of coursework followed by a separate nine-month internship, the new model integrates hands-on experience throughout their education. This change helps students apply classroom knowledge in real time, get into the workforce sooner, and achieve higher exam pass rates, a prime example of the Life-Changing Education they receive at Michigan Public Health.
The goal is for this to not just simulate, but to be a real clinician experience.”
— Erin Zettell
The center runs as a free, virtual counseling platform where Nutritional Sciences students provide services under the supervision of registered dietitians. But it’s much more than just practice sessions. Each appointment follows a three-stage process that mirrors real clinical work: preparation, appointment and documentation.
“The goal is for this to not just simulate, but to be a real clinician experience,” Zettell said. Students review intake forms, meet with their supervising dietitian, conduct 30- to 45-minute counseling sessions, and complete thorough documentation afterward.
The approach relies heavily on motivational interviewing, a counseling technique that helps clients discover their own solutions rather than receiving prescriptive advice. This method proved to be eye-opening for many students.
“I didn’t expect nutrition counseling to be as psychologically focused as it is,” Paris said. “When using motivational interviewing techniques, the majority of the session is actually led by the client, with the dietitian providing nutrition information toward the end based on goals made by the client.”
PROSPECTIVE STUDENT? Learn more about Michigan Public Health.
Meeting students where they are
First-year students primarily counsel fellow University of Michigan students, creating a peer-to-peer dynamic that works surprisingly well. These young professionals-in-training understand the challenges their clients face: busy schedules, tight budgets, stress eating, and the struggle to maintain healthy habits in a demanding academic environment.
“I think being close in age and having similar experiences made it easier to relate and provide suggestions,” Paris said. “We go to the same restaurants, never have time to cook—those shared experiences actually helped.”
The conversations often reveal deeper issues beneath surface-level concerns. Students might come in asking about weight loss but discover they need strategies for meal planning or energy management throughout their busy days.
I had never gotten the chance to counsel in Spanish before, so it was definitely great practice for my future roles.”
— Eduardo Mendez
Expanding beyond campus
As students gain experience, they work with more diverse populations through partnerships with community clinics. Second-year students counsel clients from the University of Michigan Medical School’s Student-Run Free Clinic in Pinckney, Michigan, and Packard Health, a local community clinic. These experiences expose students to different challenges, from food insecurity to chronic health conditions.
Eduardo Mendez, MPH ’25, who recently completed the program, particularly valued the opportunity to counsel Spanish-speaking patients.
“I had never gotten the chance to counsel in Spanish before, so it was definitely great practice for my future roles,” said Mendez, a native of San Juan who plans to work in the inpatient setting. The experience was meaningful not just for him, but for patients who could receive nutrition counseling in their first language.
Madelyn Jones, MS ’25, who graduated in August, noticed how different populations required different approaches.
“For students, things like busy schedules, stress and budget often made healthy eating feel tricky, so I focused on practical tips that fit into their lifestyle,” she said. “Community clients often dealt with more complex issues like food insecurity, chronic health problems or cultural food preferences.”
READ MORE about faculty, students, alumni and staff.
Building skills and confidence
The center addresses a fundamental challenge in health profession education: how to prepare students for real-world practice. Dietetic students must complete at least 1,000 hours of supervised experiential learning and fulfill a set of specific competencies to qualify for their licensing exam.
The NCC helps students earn hours and meet competencies, while providing crucial early experience that better prepares them for summer rotations in hospitals, clinics and community settings. It also breaks the ice for students to feel more comfortable and confident speaking to clients before their rotations, Zettell said.
The impact goes beyond technical skills. Students develop confidence in their ability to help others navigate complex relationships with food and health.
“Their mindset surrounding weight loss and healthy eating was restricting, stressful and taxing,” Paris said of one client. “During the session, I encouraged them to include both foods they enjoy and foods that are beneficial to their health. We also discussed having a mindset of adding foods rather than taking them away.”
The client left feeling hopeful and less anxious about food and counting calories.
“This experience made me feel more confident in my abilities to help people shift their mindset surrounding dieting and nutrition,” Paris said.
A growing network
The program also strengthens connections within Michigan’s nutrition community. Many supervisors are Michigan Public Health alumni who want to support the next generation of dietitians. This creates networking opportunities that often lead to job placements after graduation.
“We really cherish that connection,” Zettell said of the alumni preceptors.
“Some of them are alumni from our program, and we benefit from broadening and fortifying our preceptor network, while getting more experienced dietitians in unique career paths and from diverse backgrounds involved in our program.”
The relationships benefit everyone involved. Students get mentorship and career guidance, while experienced dietitians stay connected to their alma mater and help address a shortage of preceptors in the field.
As the program continues to evolve, Zettell hopes to expand services beyond the winter semester when most first-year students participate. The goal is year-round operation that provides more consistent services to the community while giving students additional practice opportunities.
Early feedback suggests the program is meeting its goals. Client testimonials praise students for being “warm,” “knowledgeable” and “respectful.” One client wrote: “It was a great experience. My counselor was very respectful and helpful at addressing my concerns.”
For Jones, who is from Ypsilanti, Michigan, but planned to work in rural northern Michigan after graduation, the program reinforced important lessons about effective nutrition counseling.
“Food is often tied to identity, culture and emotion—it’s not just about nutrition,” she said. “The insight I gained from that appointment stays with me and continues to shape how I provide effective nutrition counseling.”
SUPPORT research and engaged learning at Michigan Public Health.
The bigger picture
The Nutrition Counseling Center represents more than just student training. It embodies the School of Public Health’s mission to increase access to nutrition services in the community. In a world where good nutrition remains out of reach for many people, programs like this provide free services while training the next generation of professionals.
“Access to good nutrition is a fundamental human right,” Zettell said. “Our mission at the School of Public Health is to provide more access to nutrition and other aspects of health.”
For the students who have participated in the program, the lessons extend far beyond nutrition science. Jones, reflecting on her experience with clients from different backgrounds, learned that “nutrition counseling isn’t ‘cookie-cutter’—it’s about meeting people where they are, building trust, and helping them feel confident to make lasting changes.”
Paris found her assumptions about nutrition counseling were challenged in meaningful ways. What she initially thought would be primarily educational became deeply personal and psychological.
“Food is tied to so much more than just nutrients,” she said.
Mendez, meanwhile, appreciated the program’s emphasis on sustainable change over quick fixes. He learned that the most effective approach helps clients develop their own solutions.
“When people feel like they came up with their own solutions, it sticks to routine better,” he said. “That’s really the only type of nutritional counseling that creates lasting change.”
As these students prepare to enter the workforce as registered dietitians, they carry with them not just technical knowledge, but a deeper understanding of how lasting change happens.
Jones, heading to rural northern Michigan, feels assured that “the program helped me build confidence in my skills and reaffirmed my passion for working in communities where nutrition support can make a real impact.”
The success of the Nutrition Counseling Center shows how innovative educational models can create win-win situations: Students gain real-world experience while communities receive valuable services. As the program continues to grow and evolve, it’s building a foundation for better nutrition care that will benefit Michigan communities for years to come—one conversation, one goal and one student at a time.
